Laundry apparatus



L. R. HURST LAUNDRY APPARATUS Filed Jury 21, 1920 I 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 HOMWHJ May 5, 1925.

L. R. HURST v LAUNDRY APPARATUS Filed July 21, 1920` 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 t Alti..

Patented May 5, 1925.,

UNITED STATES PATENT ortica. f

` `LINDSAY-ia. HURsT, or LoUIsvILLE, KENTUCKY.

LAUNDRY ArPARATUs.

`Applicationifiled. July 21, 1920. Serial No. 397,967.

To all whom t may' concern.'

Be it known thatr I, LINDsAY-Ii. IIuRsT, a

citizen `of the United States, residing in. Louisville, in the county of Jefferson and State of Kentucky, have invented certainv new and useful Improvements in Laundry Apparatus; and I do hereby declare the 'following to be a `full, clear, and exact description `of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same. i

My invention relates to laundry apparatus especially of the type designed for domestic use, and the primary object of the invention is to provide an apparatus having all the essentials of a laundry `outfit compactly arranged so as to be contained in a `single cabinet when not `in use, and so disposed relative to each other vwhen opened up that the user may eliect soaking of the clothes,

wringing, washing, rinsing and starching and bluing, ironing and airing after` iron-l ing within a minimum space, the cabinet as a whole being designed to occupy but a small amount of space.

yA furtherobject of `myinvention is to provide a simple and highly efficient wash-` ing machine composed of but` few parts` cleansingof thearticles to be washed, all the j mechanism of thel washer being lconfined within the cabinet so thatthere is no danger whatever of personal injury or injury to the clothing of the operator by catching inany ot' the gearing, th'e lmachine being readily started and stopped by the simple turning of a switch member conveniently placed on the outside of thecabinet, the mechanism, however, being readilyv accessible through appropriate closures inl thecabinet whenv and partway down each end the wells of necessary for repairingj 1 j In the draWingaFigure l isan elevation or. my 'improved laundryapparatus, parts .being in section and others broken away. Figure 2 is a view at right angles` to Figure l, the cabinet being in section and the water.

receptacle being broken away to show the clothes container.`

I n the drawings, l designates a cabinet, which may be made of wood or of metal,

suitably braced and provided with supportingcasters 2. The cabinet forms a housing for the washing machine andv its operating mechanism, including the motor, :tor the wringer, and for the ironing board with its adj uncts, each of which parts of the laundry `apparatus will be hereinafter fully described. At its top the cabinet'is provided i with a hinged cover. The cover has two sections, 3, 3b, hinged together, the smaller section, 3, being adapted to lie fiat against the outside of the cabinet when the cover 1s opened up and used as a table, it being supported in this open position by chains 4. The motor mechanism and the drain pipe 'from the water receptacle may be reached through openings in the side or sides of the cabinet, suitable closures, such as 5, covering these openings, it being one of the objects oimy `invention that every part of the ap para-tus isenclosed within a sightly cabinet when the apparatus is not in use.

p j 171e was/mtg maohmc. S0 j Appropriately supported within the cabinet `is a metallic water `receptacle l() with a valved drain l2 which extends to theside `of the cabinet, access to thisdrain being had through one of the closures 5 in the side of the cabinet. The clothes container 13. is preferably o'foval shape `in side elevation and is formed of corrugated copper, although other materials may be used for this purpose. The corrugations are arranged transversely throughout the greater portion of the ends and the bottom of the container and the major number or' the corrugations, which includesthe bottom and part way up each end, has a series oit' slits llin the wells `or the corrugations, these slits being of approximately one-sixteenth inch in width.

Adjacent the lopening l5 ofthe container the corrugations have sltslG Aof greater width than the slits 14. The larger slits permit quick passage of the water -at the points where the greatest pressure is applied.` The sides 17h18 of the container are secured to the corrugated metal body portion by having the sides of an exact size with the outermost plane of the body. Midway the two ends and extending down the sides and across the bottom of the body of the container is a groove 19 which forms a seat for a U-slaped saddle or hanger 2O by which the container is suspended within the water receptacle, outwardly extending trunnions 21 and 22 of the saddle being pivotally supported in bearings 23, 24, the former being secured to one of the sides of the cabinet and the latter to a cross piece 25 within the cabinet, the packing of these bearings being arranged in boxes outside of the water receptacle so that soapy water seeping through the bearings will aid in lubrication. The trunnion 22 is elongated and to it is fixed a segment 2G by which the container is rocked on its bearings through a compleinentary segment 27 on a stub shaft 28 projecting from the cross piece 25, the segment 27 having an arm 29 connected with an actuatingl rod 30, the other end of the rod being attached to a crank 31 loose on an extension 32 of a shaft 83 supported by bearing blocks 34. the shaft being driven by a gear E35 in mesh with a worm 36 on the shaft 37 of motor 3S. r1`he crank 31 is weighted, as at 39, to counterbalance the weight of the members connected therewith to effect centering of the saddle when the apparatus is brought to a standstill. A clutch 40 effects the interlocking of the crank with the driven shaft the clutch being thrown into and out of engagen'ient by bell crank leverage 41 which is operated by a handle 42 projecting outside the calanot 1, the lever mechanism being held in either of its two positions by a s1 ring 43 which in whatever position the lever parts may occupy is at one side of the axis of the handle.

The clothes container is fastened to the saddle 2O by spring clips 44 which are also effective for securing' the cover 45 to the container. After the washing operation is completed the container as a whole may be lifted from its saddle by simply disengagingl the clips 44. To insure an oscillating action of the container the trunnions 21 and 22 are at a point on the saddle which is above the horizontal center line of the container.

As before stated, the container is of oval shape in side elevation. It is preferably so placed within the water receptacle that its ends leave but little clearance between themselves and the end walls of the receptacle, greater space existing between the bottom of the container and the bottom of the receptacle.v rillus formation insures the displacement of the water from the bottom of the receptacle and its impinging with `greater force against the upper portion of the ends of the container at which point the wide slits 16 are provided so that the water will be freely passed into the container and with a force which will act quickly on the articles contained therein.

In operating the washing machine, the re-v ceptacle is first lled to the desired depth with water, the valve in the drain being closed. Clothes to be cleansed may then be inserted in the clothes container and the latter hung in its saddle, or the clothes may be put in' the container after the latter has been suspended in position. With the cover applied to the container and fastened by the spring clips 44 it is now only necessary to turn the handle 42 so as to throw the operating gears into mesh with the motor through the clutch 40, the motor having been previously started, or the clutch maj,y be first operated and the motor then energized. The parts are geared to a ratio of about 48 to 1 so as to economize by avoiding the necessity of providing high speed bearings. r1`he reciprocating action of the suspended container is sufciently fast through this ratio to insure the best results. Tol prevent splashing of thev water and at the same time insure retention of the heat a cover is fitted over the water receptacle. The rocking and oscillating motions are imparted to the container by the gearing 26, 27, through the crank connections with the motor. The washing operation may be stopped either by cutting olf the current to the motor or by disengaging the clutch members.

I claim as my invention:

1. Laundry apparatus including a housing, a washing machine within said housing comprising a water receptacle, a clothes container, a saddle mounted for swinging action within said receptacle, said saddle supporting said clothes container, spring clips carried by said saddle for fastening the container thereto and simultaneously binding the cover to said container, a gear set for swinging said saddle and clothes container, and motive power connections for actuating said gear set.

2. Laundry apparatus including a housing, a washing machine within said housing comprising a water receptacle, a clothes container having a recess extending down its sides and across its bottom, a U-shaped saddle mounted for swinging action within said receptacle, said saddle supporting said clothes container by engagement with the recessed portion of the latter, spring clips carried by said saddle for fastening the oontainer thereto and simultaneously binding the cover to said container, a gear set for actu-ating said saddle and clothes container, and motive power connections for driving said gear set.

3. Laundry apparatus including a housing, a washing machine within said housing comprising a Water receptacle having opp0- of the trunnions of said saddle, and motive sitely arranged bearings, a U-shaped saddle power connections for oscillating said gear having trunnions journaled in said bearings, to effect swinging of said saddle and clothes 10 a clothes container having a recess eXtendcontainer.

ing down its sides and across its bottom to In testimony whereof I have signed this receive said saddle when the container is specification.

yplaced in said receptacle, a gear fast on one. LINDSAY R. HURST. 

